I have more questions than answers. But I believe in something much bigger and try to share the little glimpses I see. Please share yours. Together we can create more - I believe.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Defeating the Bogeyman

In October 2014 I wrote these word....

'Basically as I see it, the argument against marriage equality is that there is a bogeyman under the bed that certain people are sure God sees and certain God following people see under the bed. But once described and once scrutinized, the bogeyman disappears to all but the most imaginative God creative engineers.I hope people stop imagining the bogeyman. He ain't there folks.'

Sadly, some people are still focused on the bogeyman. There's still a fear that treating LGBT people with respect and dignity will unleash that bogeyman. Now it's a fear that people may go to the bathroom for demented purposes. There are no actual reports of such incidences. There is no "real and present danger" except in the minds of those who wish to deem themselves better qualified to discern "right from wrong". They see the bogeyman and that bogeyman is REAL.

These are the same people who reported that there was a "gay agenda". These are the people who believe there is a "gay life style". They have been creating and chasing a bogeyman for a long time. Somehow, they alone can see right and wrong and somehow, they have special bogeyman glasses.

As I think about these people, I suddenly feel quite sorry for them. The bogeyman is hiding under their beds and it is chasing them. Demons are chasing their thoughts, gripping them with fear, and driving them to act in the most irrational and unflattering ways. They are burdened by mythical creatures and mythical creations of reality.

It will, unfortunately, require great effort to break them free. But I would urge those of us who know they are fearing a mythical being to act in kindness and understanding in much the same way we would with a child in fear of danger under the bed. They are convinced the danger is real, even if there is no evidence of it. It will take time for them to get over their fears but we will have to convince them that the magical spells they speak are not the reason for their safety.

Sometimes it's easier to believe in magical spells than to believe there was no danger in the first place. How can we help them defeat the bogeyman?